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Bacteriophage-induced lipopolysaccharide mutations in escherichia coli lead to hypersensitivity to food grade surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate

Zhong, Zeyan; Emond-Rheault, Jean Guillaume; Bhandare, Sudhakar; Lévesque, Roger; Goodridge, Lawrence

Bacteriophage-induced lipopolysaccharide mutations in escherichia coli lead to hypersensitivity to food grade surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate Thumbnail


Authors

Zeyan Zhong

Jean Guillaume Emond-Rheault

Profile image of SUDHAKAR BHANDARE

SUDHAKAR BHANDARE SUDHAKAR.BHANDARE@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Associate Professor in Veterinary Public Health

Roger Lévesque

Lawrence Goodridge



Abstract

Bacteriophages (phages) are considered as one of the most promising antibiotic alternatives in combatting bacterial infectious diseases. However, one concern of employing phage application is the emergence of bacteriophage-insensitive mutants (BIMs). Here, we isolated six BIMs from E. coli B in the presence of phage T4 and characterized them using genomic and phenotypic methods. Of all six BIMs, a six-amino acid deletion in glucosyltransferase WaaG likely conferred phage resistance by deactivating the addition of T4 receptor glucose to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This finding was further supported by the impaired phage adsorption to BIMs and glycosyl composition analysis which quantitatively confirmed the absence of glucose in the LPS of BIMs. Since LPSs actively maintain outer membrane (OM) permeability, phage-induced truncations of LPSs destabilized the OM and sensitized BIMs to various substrates, especially to the food-grade surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). This hypersensitivity to SDS was exploited to design a T4–SDS combination which successfully prevented the generation of BIMs and eliminated the inoculated bacteria. Collectively, phage-driven modifications of LPSs immunized BIMs from T4 predation but increased their susceptibilities as a fitness cost. The findings of this study suggest a novel strategy to enhance the effectiveness of phage-based food safety interventions.

Citation

Zhong, Z., Emond-Rheault, J. G., Bhandare, S., Lévesque, R., & Goodridge, L. (2020). Bacteriophage-induced lipopolysaccharide mutations in escherichia coli lead to hypersensitivity to food grade surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate. Antibiotics, 9(9), Article 552. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9090552

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 26, 2020
Online Publication Date Aug 28, 2020
Publication Date Sep 1, 2020
Deposit Date Oct 26, 2022
Publicly Available Date Oct 27, 2022
Journal Antibiotics
Electronic ISSN 2079-6382
Publisher MDPI
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 9
Issue 9
Article Number 552
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9090552
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/12329450
Publisher URL https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/9/552

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